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Avoiding Load In/Out Truck Idling Citations in NYC
promousa
April 8, 2024
Secured your permit? No problem, right? Well, in NYC, that’s not the case when it comes to idling trucks and buses.
Picture this – you’ve spent months working with your brand client on an event. All the pieces have finally come together, and you arrive on-site to find out you or your client have been fined. The chances of this may seem slim, but this scenario is becoming increasingly more common in NYC due to a city-wide initiative called the Citizens Air Complaint Program.
The goal of the program is to reduce air pollution, allowing passersby to receive compensation for reporting commercial vehicles idling for more than three minutes (Infraction Code 24-163).
What does this mean for event professionals? Regardless of permit status, you and your event staff still must adhere to the three-minute idling limit rule. In fact, by not following this rule, you run the risk of receiving hefty fees starting at $350 and escalating to over $1,000.
Fortunately, there are some simple steps you can take to avoid these unwanted fees.
A great place to start would be to notify ALL event staff about the idling rules prior to event day. This includes not only internal staff, but also anyone who will be on-site from your client’s team. Ask them to keep an eye out for these violations on-site. The same applies for any vendors who will be present throughout the duration of your event.
Another proactive step you can take would be to formulate a load in/out plan in advance. Discussing a solid load in/out strategy with your team as an essential part of pre-production planning can often be overlooked, but this is not something you want to try to figure out the day of, especially in a large city. Taking this small, but important step can save time and resources on-site, which is invaluable when every second counts.
Although the Citizens Air Complaint Program is specific to New York City, we wouldn’t be surprised if similar rules pop up in cities across the US, as efforts to improve the environment continue to grow. These ever-changing rules can make it difficult for agencies to keep up and stay in the know. EventPermits does the legwork for you so you and your team won’t be left blindsided at your next event. We can help you anticipate and plan ahead on these protocols, setting both you and your client up for success.
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An FAQ about the program can be found here:
https://www.nyc.gov/site/dep/environment/idling-citizens-air-complaint-program.page
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